Drunken driver hit parked vehicle with child in his car, police say
A 34-year-old Huntington Station man faces arraignment Monday in First District Court in Central Islip, charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated under Leandra's Law, as well as child endangerment, after he crashed his vehicle into a parked car Sunday night — while driving with his 12-year-old son in his car.
Suffolk County police said Denis Manzaneras-Orellana was arrested following an investigation and held overnight at the Second Precinct.
His son was uninjured in the crash, police said.
Police said Manzaneras-Orellana was driving a 2000 Honda on East 10th Street between Varney and Mulford avenues in Huntington Station when he crashed into the parked car around 9:20 p.m. Responding officers determined Manzaneras-Orellana was intoxicated and made the arrest, police said.
It was not immediately clear if Manzaneras-Orellana was represented by an attorney. Police said his son was released to a family member.
Leandra's Law is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who was killed when the car she was riding in with six other girls attending a sleepover overturned on the Henry Hudson Parkway in October 2009. The law, enacted that November, makes it a felony, even on first offense, to drive drunk with a child under age 16 in the vehicle.
John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”
